Inherited know-how and a can-do attitude see a Taranaki garden flourish.
Inherited knowledge helped a Taranaki couple develop their garden – now it’s set up for those to come
Leo and Liz Bennett have packed four decades of gardening into weekends. Their restful country garden south of New Plymouth is one others could replicate, they insist. All that’s needed is some key ingredients like land, existing knowledge or a heritage of gardening, plenty of plants and perseverance.
As they talk to people visiting their 2.8ha property, Creekside Garden, during Taranaki Garden Festival time they downplay their achievements. “Our garden is something that could be built by the average couple on weekends,” says retired electrical and instrument technician Leo.
Generosity of spirit extends to the plant material. Many plants started as cuttings gifted by others; in turn, the couple have given back.
“I have probably given away about as much as I have received. The garden keeps growing so you can prune and give away without depleting,” says Liz, a registered nurse who works in an acute orthopedic surgical ward. For her, working the soil is great therapy.
Liz is the daughter of Dutch market gardeners. One of nine children, her parents Leo and Margaret Reumers immigrated to New Zealand in 1953. Arriving in Taranaki, they met another Dutch couple, Harry and Nelly Naus, and together the two families established Eureka Garden a few kilometres up the road from Creekside Garden.
“Dad loved gardening. He would rarely buy a plant. He would take cuttings and see how many he could propagate and share around,” recalls Liz.
Leo has also inherited a love of gardening – his parents Noel and Imelda maintained a sizeable vegetable garden for many years.
Leo and Liz’s property was originally part of the family farm. They have planted every tree – hundreds of them, including everything from exotics with wide-arching canopies to upright native specimens including those which border a shady bush walk.
Says Leo: “My dad taught us early on, the first thing you do is plant shelter when you buy a section in Taranaki.” Then you plant for the conditions, bearing in mind that as trees mature, conditions change. Now the garden is a hushed and sheltered microclimate.
Defining the natural contours of the garden was also part of its development. A creek flowing through the property created levels and interest. “A stream has a natural flow so the garden works around that,” says Leo. The couple planted out the banks of the waterway, then built a bridge to the other side. That land morphed into an orchard. More planting took
place nearby, which gave rise to construction of a little cottage built by Liz’s dad before he passed away. “The children spent hours playing around there,” recalls Liz. “Then the creek became part of the garden rather than being just a boundary.” Her father also fashioned other structures – a dovecote, an old wagon and a rustic chicken coop.
Leo also contributed to the built structures. A windmill dating back to 1927 and built in Christchurch was collected from a Whanganui scrapyard and restored so it could pump water. He installed a water wheel. “I built it in the shed and originally converted a washing machine motor to run as a generator. This set-up then powered lights that went all around the garden at night.”
There are also metres of winding retaining wall built from bits of discarded concrete. People ask how long it took. “I say, it wasn’t built in a weekend. It was a lifetime of weekends. But it wasn’t a task that was overwhelming. It was quite pleasurable.”
Over the years, they developed the front of the property, with flowers, trees and shrubs filling gardens beside the driveway. Three hundred feijoa trees were planted and for many years the family picked the fruit and sold it.
While a lot of work has gone into the garden, it’s been developed to be easily managed. Liz and Leo were mindful of not over-burdening themselves, it had to fit the family as well. “Our kids have played on and in it. Now our grandchildren are playing in it too.”
They take great delight in seeing mokopuna being the next generation to learn about gardening. One day when granddaughter Amelia requested secateurs, they were handed over, no questions asked, and three faces soon emerged from a gap sculptured in a weeping gleditsia.
It was a hobbit house, declared the grandchildren who had pruned it up while the adults were occupied elsewhere. Liz and Leo laugh about the incident, produce photos and say: “If the kids get enjoyment out of the garden that’s what it’s for. Although it’s been a private garden for all these years, it’s also about sharing it with others.”
Q&A
Most significant plant in the garden: Copper beech – one of the first trees that we planted and one of the favourites. (Liz)
Favourite plant combination: Different maples with underplantings of hostas, because of the great colour contrasts. (Liz)
Favourite garden job: Chainsaw pruning and putting prunings through the chipper. No job is hard work if you use the right tools. (Leo)
Biggest gardening mistake: Getting carried away pruning with the chainsaw when Liz is away at work. (Leo)
Best tip for other gardeners: Create a garden with the plants that you love, in the size that you can manage. (Liz)
Favourite season in the garden: All seasons bring something different, although we particularly love the colours in the garden during autumn. It’s a good time to cut back and reshape and implement any changes. (Liz) The thing I’ve learned about gardening over the years is: Keep it simple and low maintenance through mass plantings and use plants that you love. (Liz)
Leo and Liz Bennett